The winter veg season is now in full swing in Ireland, and wholesaler Barra Sweetnam at All Fresh in Co. Cork is trying, as always, to keep it as local as possible.
"We have tender stem broccoli, Castlefranco raddiccio, Cavolo nero, and purple sprouting broccoli from our local grower Colm Horizon Farm, who are just half an hour away from us. They are not big growers, but they can supply us enough of the specialty products to keep our orders done. For the products such as tender stem, which is no longer a speciality, we sell as much of that as we do the normal broccoli; we will have to import. We try to get it from Spain instead of far-off places like Kenya."
© AllFresh
According to the grower, a few years ago, it would not have been possible to grow the specialty vegetables in Ireland, but due to the milder climate, they can now thrive and are no longer thought of as specifically Italian products.
Demand
"We have two types of customers, one is the bigger, chain hotels and restaurants who have set menus and tend to stick to the mainstream, cheaper products, and then we have the smaller artisan hotels who do seasonal menus and are always open to trying something new and a bit different."
Barra said they are now entering a very quiet period, "People have gone back to work/ school after the mid-term holidays and are now in a sort of hibernation until Christmas. No one is getting married or making plans to go out. I expect it to remain quiet until the mad rush a couple of weeks before Christmas."
For more information:
Barra Sweetnam
Allfresh Wholesale
Tel: +353 21 4510526
[email protected]
www.allfresh.ie
